Somebody with a similar problem compromised with them and began leaving dry dog food on the far edge of her property, away from her garden beds. Don't know if that will work for you or make it worse, but it worked for her...

I don't know if this would work, but sounds feasable. If you can put something like coyote, mountain lion or even dog urine at their points of entry, you may be able to deter them. I think you can get coyote urine in some of the stores.

Just a thought--Good luck with your problem.

Inquiring minds want to know: How do you get a coyote (much less a mountain lion) to pee in a jar? The visuals on this idea are too funny to continue. :-))

They sell some sort of chemical coyote urine spray at Harlow's on East Pima Street in Tucson. Am not sure how well it works though.

I'm with you on that visual Mary!

Ok--I knew I should have been much more explicit in my description. Sheesh. ;-)

My first thoughts were to have a neighbor's dog "mark" his territory near the entry points, but in case that wasn't a viable option, I was trying to give you some other options. I figured since coyotes are predators of the javelinas, it may act as a natural deterrent. I attached the google search for coyote urine if you want to go that route--but I have seen the stuff in some local stores (I don't recall which ones though).

Here is a link that might be useful: Google search.

I knew what you meant AzDesertRat. I couldn't resist the fun though. Think of it: maybe if we turned on the tap full blast in the bathroom sink it would help him go. heh, heh.

They have chemical equivalent's of just about everything these days, especially for the hunters. A friend of mine once had a girlfriend who loved to spend evenings in bars dancing. Alan got tired of it one night and took along some eau de skunk and emptied the entire place with just a few drops. I laughed till I cried when he told me that one.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all! Give a live gift, one that doesn't bark or scratch the furniture. 99 Cent stores have 12" clay pots for sale. (hint, hint)

You could try an electrical fence or if they are mainly doing it at night and are nocturnal you could also add a motion sensor floodlight. Sometimes it will scare them off. I think I would use both because they are tenacious little buggers. We built a cabin in prescott, AZ and had probs with javelina because some of the nieghbors would leave out trash and it attracted them. Then they started to dig and root in our yard, they were horrible for awhile and once we put in the electrical fence they sought out the nieghbors property instead.
~SJN

Well, they came back last night and pooped in my backyard. I went to a nursery and got some anti-javelina pellets that I've spread on the ground right at the fence where they're getting in.

Thanks for the electrical fence suggestion, but I live in an HOA community & that's not an option. :-)

Here is my natural, free and organic method for deterring javelinas and rabbits. It REALLY works!!

I found this website when I googled javelina deterrent because my garden was being ravaged by the neighborhood herd (we've counted up to 24 individuals) and my penstemon was being eaten by rabbits even though I sprayed it with rabbit repellent. I was going to get the deterrent that makes cougar sounds but it was going to take several months to get it. One day I was talking to neighbors who kept complaining about the javelinas knocking over their trash cans and I realized that has never happened to me and I believe it's because I have a large dog and my trash can has a week's worth of large dog droppings in it.

Here is my javelina deterrent method: OK, this is really gross but it is free and only for garden lovers who are determined to persuade the neighborhood javelinas (and rabbits as a bonus) that their garden just isn't yummy anymore. This has worked perfectly so far, and here's what you do. I took several large dog droppings and put them in a gallon of water (I used a plastic pitcher with a top that rotates to open, then you don't have to touch anything that comes in contact with the droppings and liquid mixture), then I just let it sit a few hours to break down and liquify. If you need to mix it up you can use a paint stirrer like you get at a paint store. You want it thin and watery so that when you pour it on the plant you really don't see it, more like dirty water. It doesn't smell as bad as it could because it's so thinned out.

I poured that mixture around the base of the agave and cactus to discourage digging for shoots and poured some on the pads and leaves of the cactus and agave and around the base of the penstemon so they wouldn't eat the flesh. I have been completely successful, and went from nightly raids where they ripped my new plants out of the ground and dug under my agaves to leaving my plants untouched and my garden pristine for the last two weeks.

At first, I saw hoof prints around my front garden but no damage and after two days of that, now, they don't even set foot in my garden! I used a broom on the gravel to smooth it out to really see if anything was disturbed and it wasn't! The javelinas and rabbits aren't even walking on my property. And it doesn't smell horrible either to humans because you don't use very much, but the animals can sure smell it.

I am going to repeat this bi-weekly for a while and then space it out to weekly and then monthly.

Wow what an ingenious, albeit disgusting solution :) I live on the Eastern outskirts of Tucson and we have a friendly neighborhood herd that are basically pets, everyone around feeds them. BUT, since I want to plant a garden and other plants around I was looking for a deterrent. I thought just a small but sturdy fence would do. But from what I have read, probably not. :( I have plants on my porch in pots right now and have to barricade those. Apparently the desert pack-rats (I'm guessing) have now found them though. Now I am trying to figure out how to broach the question to my neighbors, who have a large dog, If I can collect some of his poo. Humm, they already think I am a little odd, so what do I have to lose? :)
Thanks for the idea.

Because Javelinas don't pant like dogs to "sweat" they rest during the day and feed in the morning and early evening. They live in families of 6-12, so there should be more than one feeding in your yard. Set and wait for them, yell, scream, blast them with water and the like to reprogram them to stay away. They have poor eye sight but good hearing and smell so try moth balls/flakes along the ground where they are entering. If they become a real problem call the AZ Dept. of Fish and Game which might trap the critter/s. If you have pet water or food outside, remove it from late afternoon to mid morning because this like dinning at the Reitz.

The only thing I've found to keep javelina out of my garden is a good strong fence. My husband dug a trench at the gate opening and filled it with cement. They figured out they couldn't root under it and they stopped trying.

We also got a heavy duty gate latch. They used to root under the gate, push it up and then they could force it open.

I've never heard of or tried the doggie poop trick. But javelina never minded our dogs. The dogs would bark and the javelina would just move away from the house a bit. They didn't run away.

I wouldn't put food or water out for them. They'll keep coming back. And, if they are well feed and happy, you'll have more of them.

oh my, I had to look up what those are. are they everywhere in Az?

Is it legal to shoot them? I'm not suggesting you do that, just wondering.

So far my thinned out poop mixture method is working to keep the javelinas from eating my succulents. It's been a month. I had a lot of hoofprints one day when I hadn't "refreshed" the secret mixture for a week, but apparently they left without damage to my garden. I went from almost daily javelina raids that looked like acts of vandalism to one visit with no damage in the last two weeks. I urge you to give it a try.

My method doesn't work because javelinas are afraid of dogs, it works because you contaminate their food source. They just go somewhere else. I poured it on the plants and around the bases so they don't dig up or yank out the new plants. So far no damage has been done to my plants from pouring the very watered down poop on the plants either. I also poured it all around the base of my century plant and cactus where they like to dig up the shoots and roots to eat. The haven't dug under the plants since either. Make sure the mixture is thin like tea.

My neighbor told me the javelinas were working their way toward my house the other evening, but there weren't even hoofprints in my yard in the morning. Whoohoo!!!!

I honestly thought my neighbors would figure I was nuts, but they have had their own battles with the javelinas and after seeing the devastation the javs wrought on my garden, they are impressed that I found something that works. I've asked and no one seems to detect an odor either.

Good Luck!

Pam

Beth_b_kodiak has the right idea.
I'm all for lead injections, but the HOA would frown on that.
:-)

Sorry I don't have any remedy to add, but I will testify that they are indeed tenacious and not easily swayed.
A little like a cat in that they do what they want, when they want, and will only alter their behavior if absolutely forced to.
They don't have much respect for attempts to train them.

Good luck discouraging them from visiting.

Javelinas are a big game species here in Arizona, illegal to shoot them without a hunting permit :)

Some of the above suggestions do sound interesting. I have some friends who live in the foothills near Wickenburg and have a perennial javelina problem. Nothing seems to have worked and they have just learned to live with it, and try to make their plants as inaccessible as possible.

what has worked here in wickenburg is the cat box. Javelinas are preyed upon by cats - big cats but they can't tell the difference. Take the cat litter that has urine, not poop, and spread it around the outside edge of any area. helps keep away rodents as well. You won't smell it and the litter is clay or in our case wheat and breaks down over time.

Re: the dog poop, coyote urine, etc. If you got some sort of results, it was pure coincidence. Javalinas do not fear dogs or coyotes, and in fact can easily kill them if attacked or confronted. They're not real big on starting fights, but they know how to finish 'em. Other than cougars, Javalinas basically rule the roost.

To the OP, you're just going to need to repair and/or enhance your gate to function as intended. That must be an enormous opening to allow Javalinas through.